40 anni Minardi Archivi

We are now a week away from the Formula Grand Prix in Imola, the seventh round of the World Championship and the first stop in Europe, scheduled from May 16 to May 18 at Imola’s Enzo and Dino Ferrari Circuit.

We caught up with Gian Carlo Minardi, President of Formula Imola, who is engaged, together with his team, in organizing this extraordinary event. “We are working hard to give all the fans who come to Imola a great show and to make it harder for those who will have to make the final decision on the future of this Grand Prix. Today we are close to crossing the 180,000-ticket mark and we are optimistic about breaking all the attendance records over the three days. It would be an incredible and important result not only for the Circuit, but for all our territory. We want to show everyone that Italy is number one,” Commented Minardi.

In addition to the activities on the track, Imola will offer a schedule of events planned to involve the fans, families, citizens and visitors. “We are completing the FUN ZONE – open from Thursday – where, amongst other things, it will be possible to meet and talk with the protagonists, from the drivers to the Team Principals, without forgetting Imola’s city centre, the beating heart of the weekend together with the Circuit very equipped with amusements, entertainment and tastings”

There will be concerts, DJ sets, shows, talks, museums, artistic installations, driving simulators, activities for children, exhibitions dedicated to the history of Formula 1 and the great champions of the past, photographic exhibitions, historical models on display, together with the possibility of thematic guided tours between engines and culture, with extraordinary openings of the city’s venues, educational workshops, markets, book presentations, with Made in Italy in the centre in all its forms.

“We have designed a show within a show. The enthusiast and fan can go to the Circuit to follow the activities on the track with the Formula 1, Formula 2, Formula 3 and Porsche Supercup races. Those accompanying him can enjoy an equally entertaining weekend regardless of Formula 1. Many special trains are available for this event, thus avoiding the stress of traffic. Imola’s railway station and the main entrance to the Circuit, located in Viale Dante, are just over 1,500m from each other, and along the way you pass through the historic city centre with all its attractions.

The engines will be switched on at 9.55 on Friday morning with the first hour of free practice of F3, F2 (11:05) and F1 (13:30) to be switched off only with the conclusion of the Made in Italy and the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. “Friday promises to be very interesting. All the teams will bring many new developments onto the track which will be tested in free practice, and it will be very interesting to follow. Furthermore, it is the day that costs the least. We are very satisfied with the presales, and I would like to hear, together with the Ferrari red tide, the support for our driver Kimi Antonelli even if he is racing in the colours of the rival team Mercedes,” concluded a smiling Minardi.

1980 – GM77, Presentazione del Minardi Team

Wednesday December 19 forty years ago Gian Carlo Minardi’s sporting activity changed style and register. Up to that day the cars handled by the manager from Faenza ran under external “colours”, first of the Società del Passatore and then Scuderia Everest.

““On December 19, 1979 the Minardi Team was officially born, also thanks to Angelo Gallignani, President of Scuderia Everest and in 1980 we debuted on the track with our first Formula 2 racing car, the GM75 designed by Caliri and Marmiroli and entrusted to Miguel Angel Guerra, the first driver to race under the Minardi Team colours,” remembered Gian Carlo Minardi.

Despite the initial hardships the Argentine driver gained a good 9th place in the European Championship. In the following however the Minardi talent scout put under contract a certain Michele Alboreto who, at the wheel of the Minardi-Fly M281, took third place in Pergusa and the brilliant win in the race at Misano in the middle of a torrid August on the Riviera… but that is another story.

Gian Carlo Minardi e Domenico Sangiorgi

At the same time as the Minardi Team’s coat of arms- the blue trapezoid with the lion, Italian flag and yellow letters- also made its debut and accompanied Gian Carlo Minardi throughout his journey that culminated with 21 years in Formula 1 and 340 Grands Prix, numbers that today still legitimize the team from Faenza amongst the top ten teams that have raced the most grands prix in the history of F1 that next year will celebrate its 70th birthday.

“In that moment we became Constructors, certified by CSAI and FIA; and we grew from year to year until we became too big for Formula 2 but too small for Formula 1. In the 1980s F1 was everybody’s dream and it was at the peak of its fame and so taken by the decision to launch myself in that challenge to construct in 1984 the first prototype F1 car which debuted the following year in Brazil with Pierluigi Martini. All supported by a group of entrepreneurs from the Emilia-Romagna region who trusted me,” continued the manager from Faenza.

Da Sinistra: Ing. Giacomo Caliri, Bruno Corradi (Pilota), Gian Carlo Minardi, Ing. Luigi Marmiroli, Tonino Bertoni (capo meccanico)

“In all those years we built our racing cars with great pride and satisfaction and for this reason, even today, I do not view positively the possibility of having an F1 starting grid made up of assemblers and/or clones”

“I am pleased that forty years later the name Minardi still lives in the memory of the fans as they have shown over the last four years during the Historic Minardi Day. I wish you all Happy Holidays and I will be waiting for you from Friday 24th to Sunday 26th April, always of the Imola Circuit for edition number five” ”